What is Epiphany and what do Hungarians do today?

Epiphany or as we call it in Hungary, vízkereszt is the 6^th day of the new year and the second oldest Christian holy day after Christmas.

Epiphany comes from the Greek “epiphaneia” which means “appearance” or “to appear”. The word itself appears several times in both the Old and the New Testament whenever God makes an appearance or there is any kind of manifestation connected to him. In the liturgy, the Greek expression Epiphania Domini is used, which literally means the appearance of God or the appearance of our God.

The three wise men of the East

The holiday itself connects the three moments of the appearance of Jesus Christ: the arrival of the wise men of the East, the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan and his first miracle of turning water into wine at the Wedding at Cana.

The Hungarian word of vízkereszt, however, comes from the ritual of consecrating water.

All these origins differentiated a bit based on the region you live in. In the East, the baptism of Jesus Christ became important, as the consecration of water also refers to it. In the West, however, the arrival of the three wise men of the East gained importance, so much that the Roman Catholic Church only celebrates this part of the holiday on the 6^th of January, since the Second Vatican Council. All the other aspects of Epiphany were moved to different days to be celebrated.

Epiphany is also the last day of the Christmas holidays, the semi-official day to dismantle the Christmas tree in Hungary, being the only tradition nowadays related to the 6^th of January, which is then followed by the Carnival season.

In Hungary, the gospel of the Hungarian vízkereszt tells the story of Jesus Christ turning 30 and going to the River Jordan to be baptised by John the Baptist. That was the point in his life when he started to teach others and spread the holy message. We commemorate his baptism, so on this day waters are consecrated, baptised, mostly the rivers Jordan and Nile – writes borsonline.hu.

Epiphany – the baptism of Jesus – painting of Piero Della Francesca

In Christian cultures, Epiphany is the day of holy baptisms, when the Catholic church consecrated incense and water. The latter was taken home from the church as they believed it had healing properties. Thus it was used for all kinds of diseases.

The act of consecrating water has much more importance in Hungary than the baptism of Jesus since the focus of it is the water itself that has a certain purifying power.

Not only to cure diseases but also to get rid of Satan and keep evil forces away. Holy water once was part of people’s whole life. They sprayed it on the cradle, on the bride and the coffin. They kept it in a jar or a big jug until next January and whatever was left was poured into the well to keep its water healthy.

Not only water was consecrated but almost everything with the holy water. Houses were splashed, animals were given this water to keep them healthy throughout the year. Every single member of the family had to take some sips from the big jar to avoid throat ache, and they plashed it on each other in order not to get sick or to prevent a spell that could be put on them on the course of the year. Epiphany also used to be the day to baptise adults, apart from the eve of Easter.

Read alsoTraditional Hungarian holiday feasts and customs from Advent to Epiphany

Source: borsonline.hu